I really need help

Hi Helpme, 

Welcome to the GamCare Forum and for sharing your post.

I am sorry you are going through a really tough time at the moment, you are not alone in the way gambling can occupy daily lives for people. There is plenty of support available to you and you have made a really positive step today by posting your story.

Please feel free to contact the GamCare Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or Netline to explore the additional support available to you. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if you would like to talk to one of the GamCare HelpLine advisers.

I would encourage you to make an appointment with your GP surrounding your anxiety and any other feelings you may be experiencing due to gambling.

Could I also give the details for some organisations that can offer some free debt advice.

National Debtline – 0808 808 4000, www.nationaldebtline.org

StepChange – 0800 138 1111, www.stepchange.org

Regards

Dan

Forum Admin

Hiya helpme 

I'm sorry to read your story as I know you feel like your sinking and the only way to sort things out is to keep gambling and you'll clear all this debt. Well put it this way you've been gambling for awhile and all you've done is lose and build up this massive debt, but I can assure you if you keep this up your debt Will be in the hundreds of thousands. You need to get help to stop gambling and help to sort your financial difficulties out. You can reach out to the advisors on this site they know it all. You've got to accept that what you've lost is gone forever and I'm sorry to say there's no way of getting that back. Look to the future gamble free, I know that feels a long way off at the moment but when you've got the stress of your financial situation sorted out things will be clearer for you. You've made the first step to happiness 

I would echo Kev's comments above and say that the hardest part of your initial recovery is accepting the loss and accepting it has gone and won't be coming back. Most of the individuals on the forum are here because they lost and then chased those losses and lost some more, etc,etc....

You are now in debt because of the chasing and there is no reason to think anything will change if you continue to gamble. At some stage you will get yourself into another tricky situation and try to 'buy' yourself out of it by betting higher stakes to recover what you have lost.

It's difficult to break out of the cycle because your anxiety is partly treated through more gambling and the more you gamble, the more you put yourself at financial risk, and the more financial risk - the more you get anxious. It's cruel. This is why you need to draw a line in the sand and accept your money has gone and you can't do anything to get it back. BUT you can do something to prevent yourself losing any more cash AND you can then start doing something about reducing your debt (and your anxiety).

Best of luck and please use the help available to put a stop to your addiction and a start to a new life.

Well said mythedunk 

It's a hard thing to leave the past where it belongs as at one time or another we've all chased all those loses with bigger stakes and winning it back but that's one time God knows how many times we've lost. Draw a line and enjoy your life gamble free saving all those future loses if you don't stop just take it one day at a time and you'll get to where you get and praise your achievement 

Hi, don’t chase losses , I lost £30k doing just that.  I was always anxious thinking just one win would help but even if I won I just put it back on slots thinking I could win more.  Get help with debts, then put the debts behind you, if you have a debt plan with maybe step change, they manage your debts and you can start living again.  Remember you never see a poor bookmaker or casino owner, all our money has paid for a lovely life for others.  When I want to bet I log on here and read stories it helps and gives you a reality check.  Good luck 

Thank you for all the wise words and support. I guess I don't know where to start. I feel like I can't just stop gambling. I don't know if that's because it's been my life for 4 years or because I some how still feel its the answer.

Previously I'd never thought about gambling, then one day all my friends were putting a bet on the grand national so I thought I'd put a bet on every single horse, just to see what it was like to back a winner (even though I knew I'd lose money doing that) how mental.

Funny enough, I managed to put a bet on every horse except the one that won!! That should have been a sign! 

Then I started on football matches. I had no idea about odds or even what were good teams. I put a few bets on £10 here and £20 there. I lost it. Then I saw valencia v barcelona. I decided to put £500 on valencia to win. I had no idea the odds were so bad and that barcelona were odds on to win. I just liked the name valencia! Anyway, I won a huge amount and that was it. From that moment on, I was completely addicted. Needless to say I lost all the winnings with a few weeks, then I've taken out about 7 credit cards and maxed them out, every payday loan going. Borrowed from friends and family. No one has a clue about my addiction, I lie and hide everything. I wish so much that I could go back and never do that first bet. How different my life would be. I know I have to stop, yet I still keep doing it. I tell myself that if someone just took all my debt away and I could start again, I'd never gamble but I don't k ow if that's true.

I'm limiting myself to £100 a week at the moment but I think when I get paid this month I'll be tempted to bet more to win more. Its all such a horrid, self created mess.